William arrived on the Pandora and did not waste a breath going immediately to Main Engineering once he materialized. His luggage nor his new CO were of his concern, he wanted his engines in check now. Stepping through the door he immediately began running status checks on the ship's systems.

[i]As I be expectin' Another garbage freighter, I can nay believe they have the nerve to call this a flagship. [/i] he thought to himself.

An Engineering Officer took note of the newcomer tinkering with the console by the warp core and moved to stop the instrusion. "Hey you! What are you doing?" he asked in a raised tone.

O'Donnell swung around to face the voice. "YOU! Who in the bloody hell be runnin' this circus?" he asked in an equally loud tone.

The Engineering Officer pointed to O'Donnell. "Listen, I don't know who you are but you can't come into my Engineering Bay and tell me how to run things.

William crossed his arms and smiled. "Oh really lad? Is tha' how is going ta be? Well let me inform ye of somethin'. I be Lieutenant William Oh Donnell, ur new Chief Engineer and from what I can see. Ye be doin' a terrible job at runnin' this so called Engineerin' Bay. I have seen betta work out of my Cadets!

The man quickly snapped to attention. "My apologies Sir, I didn't know. I ensure all systems are constantly running at 98% or greater."

"Alright Lad this be no time for excuses, ye can make up for it by turnin' this atrocity into a proud flagship! I want you and a team to start by realignin' those plasma coils and increasin' the efficiency of tha Plasma flow regulators! Simple Engineerin' man, have some pride!"

"Aye sir!" the man said rushing off to complete his task.

**20 minutes later**

"DEAR GOD MAN! ARE YOU MAD OR IS THA THE WAY YE WERE TAUGHT TO ADJUST A PLASMA REGULATOR!" O'Donnell yelled placing his hand over his head.

He turned and his eyes widened as he set his focus on the main aligning the plasma coils. "JESUS AND ALL MARY ENSIGN THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU USE TO ALIGN PLASMA COILS, YE BLOW US ALL TO ASHES!"

Suddenly a young yellow shirt tapped him on the shoulder handing him a PADD with a confident smile. "105 parcent? Nice try laddy but ye don't stop until I have atleast 108..." O'Donnell said shooing the kid away.

"LISTEN UP LADDIES, I JUST SPENT MY LAST YEAR REBUILDING A PROMETHEUS CLASS STARSHIP...TWICE! AND YE BE MAKIN' ME BELIEVE YA CAN'T DO SIMPLE TASKS? DO I NEED BE SENDIN' YE ALL TO THE ACADEMY AGAIN?!" he exclaimed.

Some of the men chuckled at his remarks but all of them would return to their tasks immediately.

In all the hustle William did not take notice of the Admiral approaching him from behind.

It was quite the rare occurrence when Iluvar found himself unable to meet with personnel, especially those assigned to his senior staff, rather promptly following their arrival aboard the Pandora. He made it a point to start building those relationships as soon as possible because he knew just how important they would be when it came time to face the music. Yet if he thought making the preparations for their departure from Deep Space Four or securing permission to cross into Romulan space had been difficult, it was nothing compared to the paces his new Chief Engineer was putting the engineering teams through at that very moment.

"You certainly don't waste any time, do you, lieutenant," Iluvar asked when he felt he had seen enough.

"Jesus Christ...sir!" O'Donnell said turning holding his chest ensuring his heart did not come dislodged from it. " Ye nearly scared the skin off of me!"

William regained his composure and offered his hand. He never thought he would see the day he would shake hands with a Vice Admiral. He wondered what Starfleet was thinking pairing him with a CO of such stature considering the headaches he caused Gage Storm. However alot of that was swept under the rug. "Vice Admiral Iluvar, I be Lieutenant William O'Donnell, please call me Will if ye wish, I skip formalities wheneva possible and I will get yur engines to a shape yur collegues be jealous of.

"Welcome aboard, Mister O'Donnell," Iluvar said with a chuckle as he shook the man's hand, "Please, forgive me if I don't dump the formalities out the airlock just yet...but points for taking the initiative. I was under the impression our engineering department was already operating above expected efficiency."

"Then ye be misinformed sir. Our friend over there informed me he be keepin the systems running at 98 parcent. I told him i nay be passin my cadets unless they could be maintaining 108....." O'Donnell replied with a smile.

Iluvar smiled. This man was either crazy, brilliant, or both and reminded Iluvar very much of another Chief Engineer he had once served with. "I admire your dedication, lieutenant," he said, "but I feel it only fair to warn you...being prepared for the situations we face isn't always the easiest thing, but it's how we deal with them that has gotten us where we are today."

His words echoed in William's ears as he was brought back to his last conversation with Captain Storm. Iluvar's presence was very commanding and O'Donnell could tell the man was seasoned and experienced. This time he could not deceive him nor did he wish to, not twice, Pandora was now his Atlas.

"Admiral.." O'Donnell began, his voice quiet and very serious. "I have seen things tha would make normal men string themselves up by thar necks. That fine line Starfleet always tells us about, I have walked on both sides, because I had to make the tough choices. I assure you one thing, when the time comes and ye be needin' engineerin' to perform. We will fight with every last bit of our beings, my dedication is all for my family...which is now here on yur vessel sir. I want ye to know whatever I do, I made the decision in yur best interesr not my own."

"I would expect nothing less," Iluvar replied with equal seriousness, "There are, of course, a few other things we should probably discuss when you have some time. I should probably get back to overseeing our departure preparations and I'm sure you're keeping quite busy already."

"Of course Admiral, I apologize fer not stoppin' ta see ye earlier. Once I be boardin' a ship, I just have ta get me hands on the engines. I be here wheneva ye be requirin me, but if ye need me fer a visit to yer office. Give me a few minutes ta get changed and cleaned first. I doubt ye be wantin' plasma residue and grease on yer nice chairs." William joked.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any," Iluvar remarked, considering the matter for a moment, "so long as you don't mind being pried away from your engineering bay so soon after arriving. Will twenty minutes suffice?"

O'Donnell smirked at the admiral's words. He didn't figure he'd want to see him so soon. "I be at yer disposal sir."

Iluvar smiled. "Very good," he said, "Then I will see you in my ready room...twenty minutes."

William's smile disappeared just as quickly as Iluvar did. He knew Iluvar had found out about the defender program. What would he say when William told him everything? How not only did he create a monster, but nearly killed his crew in the process. Once again Steven Barrington had crept back into his life, the very thought of the man filled his veins with poison.

"Lieutenant! Look's like ye be havin' a chance to impress me. You have engineerin till I return." he said walking purposely from the room.